Fifteen years – at least – of CRM technology provides a heavy history and ample advice of best practices that will help guide you to successful CRM implementation and usage.

Read some valuable excerpts from an article by David Myron, Editorial Director of Destination CRM, titled, “15 Years of Pocket Shots and Miscues”… We’ve learned about and reported on quite a few of the best practices that have been developed since then. Some of my favorite time-tested tips, listed below, have appeared in many issues of CRM magazine. He lists some of his favorite time-tested tips

Make a business case. Don’t simply buy a CRM system because your competitor has one. And don’t buy one because you think it will be a business panacea—it won’t. Be specific with your goals.

Get support from the top. If management doesn’t enforce CRM usage, then you’ll be relying on luck to increase user adoption.

Keep customers in mind. If your organization doesn’t think about your customers first when implementing a new process or technology, don’t expect your customers to return the favor when they’re looking to make a purchase.

Build a team. Create a group of stakeholders with representatives from each department that will use the system. Take notes on what their colleagues need the system to do for them. Make sure the system and/or processes address their concerns.

Take baby steps. Don’t try to do too much all at once. As Donna Fluss writes in her column, “The Siebel Effect—and Its Survivors,” “Complex projects should be broken down into manageable and measurable phases.”

A CRM system is a software tool that helps manage interactions with constituents. To be successful, a CRM system must track and report information about the people you engage with in a way that helps you further your goals.